After Shave
by mikey magee
Summary: Kanan teaches Ezra how to shave. Inspired by UnfathomableFandoms' story "Razor Burn"


This was the third time this month Kanan had seen Ezra's face bleeding. Recently, the kid had started growing small whiskers on his face. Nothing too big, just small hairs here and there. It was normal, he was fifteen after all.

But every week, during practice, Kanan noticed small incisions on his cheeks, or fresh cuts on his chin. Kanan tried his best to ignore it…far be it for him to interfere with the kid's shaving. Kanan knew how important independence was for Ezra, and he did all he could to respect that. Until, Hera came into his room…

"Kanan," she said, "You need to teach Ezra how to shave properly."

Kanan snapped his eyes from the data pad he was reading, and onto Hera's greasy figure. "The kid seems to know what he's doing."

Hera just crossed her arms, "No. You're going to teach him. I'm sick of seeing dried blood on that kid's chin." Hera wrapped her arms around herself…blood was never something Hera could deal with. "I saw him headed to the bathroom with a razor. Get up and get started. _Now_."

Kanan rolled his eyes, and shot a cheeky salute. "No problem general."

Truth be told…Kanan was a little curious as to how the kid conducted his morning shave. Granted, it was normal to cut yourself during a shave if you were a beginner, but sometimes Ezra would walk out of that bathroom looking like he had been mugged. His face was more blood than skin. Kanan approached the bathroom door…and knocked.

"Hey kid," He said, "You in there? Can I come in?"

The door opened, and Ezra stepped aside to let Kanan enter. "Hey," Ezra said, "Is something wrong?"

Kanan just shook his head, "No…" Kanan glanced down to the dulled razor in Ezra's grip, "Just needed a quick shave is all." There was no lubricant anywhere. No shaving cream, no lotion, not even water. Ezra turned back to the mirror, and raised his razor to his dry cheek.

"A-are you about to shave…with nothing on your face?" Kanan asked in disbelief.

Ezra shrugged, "I don't much care for shaving cream…it just kind of gets in the way and makes a big mess." He placed the blade to his chin and pressed down…hard. Far too hard for someone with as little facial hair as he had. His chin began to bleed, and Kanan felt his stomach do summersaults. Kanan knew the kid was still learning how to shave…but dear lord, even beginners didn't draw this much blood. What Ezra called "shaving" normal people called self-mutilation. It continued that way for minutes. One stroke of the blade drew blood. One quick curve of the cheek, and his skin was nicked. But Ezra didn't seem to notice. Kanan couldn't take any more of this.

"Okay, stop." Kanan grabbed the razor from Ezra's hand.

"Hey!" Ezra said, "I was shaving."

"No, you were carving more holes into your face." Kanan inspected the blade, blood was caked onto its front. He glanced over to the trash bin on the far corner, and threw it there.

Why did the kid have to do everything the hard way? Was he trying to prove something?

Kanan walked passed Ezra, and over to the cabinet. He ruffled through its innards and pulled out a can of cream. "First off, you never, ever, ever shave without applying something on your face."

Kanan squirted a fresh, thick lather of shaving cream into his hand, and spread in on his face. He tossed Ezra the can and watched as the boy did the same.

"Second," Kanan rummaged through the cabinet again and pulled out two fresh razors, "The harder you press down, the deeper the cut." He placed the first razor on the sink, and took the second razor to his chin. He slowly glided the instrument over his cheek, leaving nothing in its wake put Kanan's smooth skin. "You are pressing down way too hard. Even Zeb, if he did shave, wouldn't press down that hard. And you barely have any facial hair at all."

Ezra picked up the razor, and did as Kanan indicated. Nice and slow. Soft and gentle. Ezra's shaving cream was pink from his first attempt at shaving.

"Good, take your time," Kanan said. Kanan raised his chin, and shaved his neck, small stubble hairs weren't something he was proud of, it was even worse now because he hadn't shaved in a while. Even Hera was starting to give him hints.

Kanan glanced back to Ezra who had just shaved all the cream off of his face. Kanan couldn't really see a difference, but that was simple because Ezra did not have much to shave off. The kid could probably go a whole year without shaving and no one would notice.

"Good." Kanan took Ezra's razor, and his and threw them both away. They never had a lot of credits for good quality toiletries, so the cheap razors were the best Kanan could do. "Now, comes the important part."

Kanan reached under the sink, and pulled out a clear bottle of blue liquid. "This," he said pointing, "Is aftershave. Once you're done, you put this on your face."

Ezra just shrugged, "Why?"

"I have no idea. They tell me it's to keep your face clean…I think it's just to give masochists something to live for." He poured a little in his hand, and handed it off to Ezra. "This stuff ain't cheap either, so only use a little bit."

Ezra poured three drops in his palm and glanced over to Kanan who was already busy rubbing it on his face. Ezra took a deep breath, rolled the liquid all of his hands…and applied it to his face.

He screamed loud enough to wake the whole star system.

"Oh yeah…" Kanan took the bottle away and stashed it under the cabinet once again, "…I should have warned ya'; this stuff burns pretty badly, especially if you have cuts on your face."

Kanan tried not to laugh…but he did anyway. He cleaned all the blood and hair out of the sink, and placed the shaving cream away. He clasped his hand on Ezra's shoulder and smiled.

"That, my little student, is how you shave. Carefully and cleanly."

Ezra rubbed his burning face, "Got it."

"Good, and the next time you shave I want you to tell me so I can monitor you."

Ezra cocked his eyebrow, "What? Don't think I'll do it properly?"

Kanan gently punched Ezra's arm. "No, I just want to make sure you don't get too much blood all over the bathroom sink. Hera would kill me worse than the Inquisitor."


End file.
